A former Barrington resident, Bill Coon, who has been the recipient of numerous transplants dating back to 1989, recently shared his experiences with students at Lake Zurich High School.

After first receiving a heart transplant followed years later by heart and kidney transplants in 2009, Coon went on to start the nonprofit Keep Swimming Foundation, which raises funds for families struggling with non-medical expenses related to long-term inpatient hospital care.

Coon, who graduated from LZHS in 2007, returned to his alma mater to speak with students during the school’s “Charity Bash,” which tries to raise support each year for charities that have ties to current and former students.

Coon recently talked with Pioneer Press about the Keep Swimming Foundation and his visit to Lake Zurich High School.

Q: What do you talk about at your speaking engagements?

A: I speak at high schools and middle schools all across the country about overcoming adversity and my own story of organ failures. I utilize my experiences when I was critically ill that turn a negative into a positive. I got through this by setting long- and short-term goals. For me, short term was going to various events when I got out of the hospital, like a Bears game. Also, I didn’t want this to derail my education, so I took a bunch of online courses through Harper College while I was in the hospital. Long-term goals were to feel like I was 20 years old again, meaning going back to my school, Columbia College Chicago, to be around young people by getting back to school.

Q: Why did you start the foundation?

A: My first realization was in the hospital as I watched families of patients spend an exorbitant amount of money on non-medical expenses, such as parking, gasoline, lodging and bedside meals. So, fast forward to 2017, and I had spoken to multiple help groups for people with congenital heart defects, transplants and cancers. I saw so many families overburdened with non-medical expenses and buried in debt. My family spent $7,500 on credit cards. I noticed some families spent $5,000 to $10,000. Around this time, I was leaving corporate America to pursue my speaking career full time. Consequently, I had the needed time in the day to start this nonprofit that I knew there was a need for.

Q: What’s your most memorable experience in all of this?

A: We’ve helped 13 families through September and we’re about to select more families to help them through the end of the year. We hope to help a minimum of 20 families in 2018. We plan on utilizing funds from the Lake Zurich “Charity Bash” to help this next group of families, as well as many families to come throughout 2019.

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